Alright, story time.
I have been actively writing since I was in primary school, but only really got into it when I was in high school. I had a wonderful English teacher who really nurtured my skills. I ended up dedicated my first published book to her.
During high school, when I was roughly 15, I started writing a story. It was meant to be a way to practice my skills as I learned new things, but eventually it got away from me.
I would write in these A5 books every single day. This became a habit which I still keep to this day. Currently I am on book 49.
I have a literally box of these books, and I figured it was time to actually do something with the thousands of notes I have gathered in the last 20 years. So, today I am finally sharing the story of Fell Dragon (not to be confused with the villain from Fire Emblem). The story has a bit of a slow start, but I promise you, it will pick up. So, hang onto your hats, because this is a 20 year-long ride I hope all of you enjoy.
The old man rubbed at his lower back as his horse plodded along the path. This was the tenth trip he had done in as many years. He sighed as he watched the straight back of his ruler before.
“I can feel your eyes drilling into my back. It is not the first time in all these long years.” said his King.
“It is not my place to say anything, Your Majesty.” He spoke.
“Then stop looking at me like that!” Snapped the King.
“Oh, stop it, Karesh.” Snapped another man which sat on another horse to the right of the King, “My father doesn’t deserve your ire.”
“Then make him look elsewhere with his judging eyes.”
“He is your seer; they have judging eyes and I feel the same as him. It has been ten years.”
The old seer, Meedus, watched his son, Doran, arguing with the King Karesh. The only reason Karesh had allowed this indignity was because of his love-hate relationship with Doran. The men had practically grown up in the same court though Doran was far lower on the social ladder than Karesh, the King had always spared him an ear, unlike his seer. Seers were hardly if ever respected, especially when their powers manifested later in life.
“What else would you have me do?”
“Let this go? It has been almost ten years.” Said Doran sadly, “My friend, please, understand that this is…”
“Oh, don’t you start. Just because we are stuck on this planet doesn’t mean that you should go soft on me.”
Meedus could feel the anger in his son and knew he had been holding this back for an exceptionally long time. He wondered if today would be the day that Doran finally told Karesh how he really felt. However, Doran fell silent and as such had his horse fall back to plod along with his father. As soon as he had vacated his position next to the King two horses carrying other soldiers came forward to protect the King. Meedus scoffed, the King hardly needed protection. He had clawed his way into this position and was easily defending it despite all the problems that came with the position.
“Father it would be wise that you do not antagonize him today.” Said Doran softly so only his father could hear him.
“It has been ten years, Doran.” Hissed Meedus, “Our people are falling apart, and he is still mourning! We have been trapped on this miserable planet for ten years. We need our King to wake up and take back our home from the Lizard Lords. I will not be buried on this planet!”
“Father.” Warned Doran, “When mother died you took time…”
“Your mother died on our home world where she is now buried. I intend to be buried next to her.”
“Oh hush, you have a few decades left in you.” Doran laughed but Meedus knew he was trying to hide the way he had felt.
“I happen to like it here.” Said Doran softly after some time, “The sun is not so harsh, and the winters are mild.”
“And you have a wife and sons, our King is not so lucky.” Meedus reminded him.
Doran fell silent with a look of pain on his face, “Aye Father. I know, God I know.”
Doran looked at the retreating back of his King, “I wish I could take his pain away, but it always eats at him and nothing I do aids that pain.”
Karesh ignored his friend and seer as they spoke in hushed whispers behind him. He gritted his teeth. He knew what they were talking about, and it caused his temper to flare. His son, his first born. He squeezed his eyes closed. He had been so young, not yet four, when war had come to their planet. He had had no way to…
The King shook his head refusing to remember how he found his son after the assassin had been caught. The royal family had been forced to flee to this miserable planet, the planet of his wife and her people. She had mourned in her way, and he continued the same tradition as he had for ten years which was to visit the grave of his first born. Soon he would ask for his soldiers to fall back so that he could have this private moment with his son’s grave.
“Your Majesty?”
He snapped out of his musings as Doran rode in front of him and stopped his movement.
“Oh, what now!” Demanded the King.
“Come now friend, don’t treat me like those that are beneath you.” Said Doran softly.
“This is not the time to test me.” Karesh growled.
Doran held both hands up before he pointed to the clearing that had opened in the forest. This was the place Karesh’s son, Natus, had loved when he visited his mother when he was alive. Now that he had passed on, it was his final resting place. No one was allowed to be here. No one, yet a single figure sat with its back to the grave.
“Karesh please…” Started Meedus, “It doesn’t look…”
Fury took Karesh’s mind as he spurred his horse on, causing Doran’s horse to rear and throw him clear. He muttered an incantation under his breath to pull the life force from his body to use as a weapon. He was still trying to form a clear image of a weapon when his horse suddenly stumbled. He was forced to kick his feet from the stirrups before trying to jump clear. He was not fast enough. The impact with the ground caused the air to be knocked from his lungs and his vision to swim. For a second everything went black and next he was being pulled to his feet. Someone was shouting something in his ear, but he couldn’t understand the words. Then he was thrown again and this time he ended up in Doran’s arms.
With angry beyond measure, he turned to face what had caused his horse to fall but stopped when he saw the carnage. The figure that had been sitting with its back to the gravestone was now standing in the centre of the clearing with several charred corpses littered around it. The corpses which were just about unrecognisable. Anger drained away with the blood from his face when he saw they were lizards. More assassins? How had they gotten onto this planet?
He shrugged off his friend and tried to step forward to the figure. Doran grabbed him hard and yelled, “Don’t!”
In that second a flame licked at the King’s nose. Then as one, all the soldiers who had come with him, eight in total, raised their crossbows made of life force ready to shoot. Karesh touched the burnt point of his nose unsure of what was going on.
The figure looked around her, yes her, dressed in odd clothing with long dusky brown hair. She looked terrified. She kept looking from her hands to the wall of flames that surrounded her.
“Lower the life force or we will shoot!” Shouted the captain of the gather soldiers.
Her head went up. Her fear changed to confusion at the order. Half her face was covered with dark red blood, making her look quite fearsome.
“I will repeat myself once more.” Shouted the captain, “Lower the life force!”
She once more looked at her hands and the fear came back to her face.
“On the count of three.” said the captain, “One…”
“Oh stop!” shouted Meedus, “Can you not see that she is absolutely terrified!”
“She just roasted four assassins without even trying. I didn’t even hear an incantation!”
Karesh took a step back and asked, “What?”
“Lord your horse stumbled, four assassins jumped out and she simply leapt to her feet and threw this wall of flame. I cannot lose another Royal on my watch!”
The King, finally calmer, walked around the perimeter of the wall of flames. He held his hands to the flame; a lot could be told from how someone used their life force, and this was rather unique.
“My Lord!” yelled the captain again.
“Hush!” said Doran, “She isn’t attacking. She clearly isn’t from around here and she likely doesn’t know what you are saying. Yelling at her and threatening will only make this situation worse. Let your King handle this.”
Karesh slowly made his way around the whole perimeter until he re-joined Meedus and Doran. The girl continued to look from them back to her hands with a growing look of terror on her face.
“I don’t think she is aware that she is doing this.” Said Karesh as he caught her eye.
“How is she able to maintain this level of external life force? She must be exhausted.” Meedus tenderly touched the wall of flame.
She flinched and stepped back.
“She is using a lot of internal energy; she is going to burn out at this rate.”
“She saved me.” said Karesh.
“Debatable.” said the captain, “She likely thought you were attacking as well and defended herself.”
“Who threw me back here?” asked the King.
“No one, you fell from your horse and then...flew back here…” Meedus looked to the girl, “Manifestation of two types on life force and no incantation to bring it forth just like…”
“Natus…” the King looked back to the girl, “Exactly like Natus. He too used fire and pure force.”
He stepped close to the flame once more and laid a hand on it. He looked her in the eye and said, “I am coming in.”
She flinched at his words but continued to just look at him. He muttered another incantation and coated his hands with protective energy before slowly creating an opening in the flames. The girl bared her teeth and faced him fully as he stepped within the circle of flame.
“I am Lord Karesh, husband to the ruler of these lands.” he said as he started walking towards her.
Terror was turning to distrust, and she only looked at him, not saying anything.
“My Lord!” called Meedus, “She cannot understand. You may have to wait out her energy reserves.”
“Is that true girl? Can you not understand me?” he paused as her hands clenched.
Now that he was closer, he saw the severe cut over her left eye. The blood was steadily dripping from her chin. She wasn’t that young to be termed a child, but she was not old enough to be an adult. Thin and her clothes were filthy and not of any style he had ever seen before.
“Can you understand this?” he tried another language.
As if realising that he was trying to get her to understand him by using different languages she shook her head slowly.
“And this?”
She shook her head again.
“Well, you have come from afar.” He tried another.
She clenched her jaw.
“Odd, you look like us, but you speak none of the four main languages. Where in the universe are you from?” He couldn’t have been more than a few feet from her now.
He noticed the tremor in her hands and took a step back and raised his hands to show he meant no harm. However, the tremor wasn’t from her building an attack. She dropped to her knees and raised a hand to her bleeding head, as if only then realising that she was hurt. Then the shaking started.
“My Lord!” Called the captain again.
“Give me your cloak.” He called back.
“Excuse me?”
“Now!”
The captain looked to Doran and said, “How am I to protect him if he insists on placing himself in danger like this?”
Doran unclasped his cloak and stepped to the wall, the flames were definitely weaker, he could easily walk through it now with little to no damage but the last thing he wanted was for that power to reignite whilst his friend was that close to one that wielded that power. He threw the blue cloak over the flames towards his friend.
“She is amazing.” breathed Meedus, “To hold a level of life force like this for so long...she is…”
“Reminding the King of Natus.”
The moment Karesh caught the cloak he heard the girl be violently ill. She was now on all fours looking more confused than ever. It wasn’t regular sick that came from her mouth but rather thick blood.
“You are more severely injured than you let on.” He slowly approached again and managed to get within a few steps before she tried to stand.
Tried. She had one foot planted whilst the other knee still dug into the dirt. She was holding a hand up at him, as if begging him not to come closer. She was deathly pale. She was not going to last much longer if she continued like this.
He showed the cloak and maimed to her to wear it before offering it to her. She looked at it with distrust before reaching for it. The arrow pierced her left hand before it managed to touch the cloak. Now the terror was gone, now there was pure fury on her face. She stormed to her feet.
Karesh knew he was in danger and quickly muttered an incantation which stuck in his throat as Doran suddenly appeared behind the girl. She seemed surprised but was unable to react fast enough as he wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her up towards him. Shock shone on her face before terror soon replaced it once more. Toes barely scraping the grass below her feet she struggled against the stronger man, her fingers digging into his arm in an attempt to pry it loose to gain breath.
Karesh felt the life force from the flames fading as the life was being squeezed from her. He watched her eyes grow wide before Doran exerted more pressure. Then her eyes rolled back into her head, and she ceased to struggle. Before Karesh could say anything, Doran dropped the girl.
He was quick to kneel next to her and make sure she was still breathing before he said to Karesh, “Either I made a move, or your soldiers would have killed her. She is unconscious but I don’t know for how long. What do you want to do?”
He lay the cloak over her and remembered those huge, frightened eyes, one blue and one grey the same as his son’s, “We will take her with us.”
And that's Part 1! As the story progresses more of the vital characters will be introduced, and the history explained at length. As of now there is no reading list so I'm stealing the reading list from Mortis Custos.
@weone, @merenludick, @clairemobey, @shopnilhasan, @therneau, @blitzzzz, @pravesho, @joetunex, @captainquack22, @irisworld, @braaiboy, @sketchygamerguy, @fuego-oscuro, @felt.buzz, @dibblers.dabs, @beeber, @brittandjosie, @tamacvet, @alonicus, @joetunex
Anyone is welcome to opt in, or out, or follow me. Fell Dragon isn't the only story I am currently working on. Together with @zakludick there is also Mortis Custos which updates twice a week. Quite a fun read there, as Zak and I try to create a story between the two of us.
If you find you like my writing, why not check out Dead Shift for a bit of tongue-in-cheek horror.
Fell Dragon Parts
| by @lex-zaiya |
| Part 1 - Welcome to the journey| Part 2 - Soon |